Anderson has solid night

These are the final games of another disappointing Panthers season, but they're certainly not meaningless to backup goalie Craig Anderson. For some players, finding motivation for Tuesday night's game against the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference - the Panthers' first since being eliminated from the playoffs Saturday - was a tough task. For Anderson, it was "really easy."

"I've got a lot to prove," Anderson said after the morning skate. "I have to show I'm improving."

Relishing his chance to play, Anderson produced another solid performance Tuesday night, making 31 saves as the Panthers beat the Thrashers 3-2 at Philips Arena. The win was the Panthers' 19th on the road this season - a franchise record - and ended a three-game losing streak. The players will have today off and stay in Atlanta until Thursday before ending the season with games at Carolina on Friday and Washington on Saturday.

"You've still got to play the games, and if you're going to play, you want to win," defenseman Jay Bouwmeester said of Tuesday's win. "It's not like it completely doesn't matter. You have some pride and you want to win. It's more fun to win."

Bouwmeester broke a 1-1 tie with his career-best 14th goal of the season at 1:02 of the third period. Seventeen seconds after Bouwmeester's drive from above the left circle, David Booth scored from the slot for a 3-1 lead.

The Thrashers made it interesting late. Mark Recchi scored with 3:12 left on a shot that appeared to hit Panthers center Stephen Weiss' stick. Then with 17.7 seconds left, Bouwmeester was penalized for holding Ilya Kovalchuk and received another two minutes for arguing that it was Kovalchuk who had pulled him down.

Despite the two-man advantage with goalie Johan Hedberg also pulled, the Thrashers didn't record a shot.

"I thought it was a better effort," Panthers coach Jacques Martin said of Tuesday's game compared to Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Capitals. "We had a chance to roll four lines, we were a little more responsible."

And the franchise record for road wins, Martin added, is one positive from this season. Another is the play of Anderson, who has won seven of his past eight starts while stopping 189 of 194 shots his past five starts.

Anderson played Tuesday for the first time since backstopping the first three wins - two by shutout - of the team's seven-game March win streak.

Jordan LaVallee pulled the Thrashers even at 13:09 of the second period with his first NHL goal. The Panthers had held the lead since 4:10 of the first period, when Olli Jokinen fired in a power-play goal. They were 0 for 15 on power plays the previous three games.

Tuesday, they were robbed of an even-strength goal soon after LaVallee scored. Kamil Kreps' shot was snagged by Hedberg, but replays showed the goalie's glove was behind the line when he made the save. But because the puck was under his glove, referees wouldn't overturn their decision.

"I was pretty positive it went in," Kreps said.

College signing

The Panthers signed University of Minnesota-Duluth junior defenseman Jason Garrison to a two-year deal. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Garrison, 23, had five goals and nine assists in 26 games last season.

Out of action

Defenseman Branislav Mezei was a healthy scratch for the 10th time in 11 games. Cory Murphy was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Noah Welch didn't play as Martin chose to leave him out of the lineup.

Decision on Kilger

Martin said the Panthers must know suspended winger Chad Kilger's intentions before the draft in late June. Kilger, acquired from the Maple Leafs for a third-round pick Feb. 26, was suspended without pay for failing to report after receiving a leave of absence for personal reasons. He has one year left on his contract.

"Before the draft we need to have an indication where he's at because it's important for our planning whether he's going to be back," Martin said, adding that he hasn't talked to Kilger recently, but spoke with Kilger's agent, Larry Kelly.